What's not Spoken
by DuskyDancing
Summary: When words escape you, sometimes writing them down - or acting them out - is the best alternative. KH3 spoilers. TW: Grief


For SoKai week, Day 3 - Gummiphone/Letter

* * *

She was halfway out of Yen Sid's study when Sora called out from behind her, "Hey, Kairi, you dropped this."

Kairi felt around her pockets, but as soon as she saw the piece of paper in his hands, she knew what it was. Her face flushed warm, and her mind went into a panic. Sora held the letter she wrote to him from the Secret Forest - the letter he was never supposed to get.

As Sora read her face, a smirk grew across his own. Axel, the only other person who knew its contents, simply turned and whistled nonchalantly on his way out. Kairi quickly reached to grab it, but Sora pulled back just in time.

"Oh, I see how it is," he laughed, "I won't read it, if you can get it from me!"

Before she could argue, he bolted out the door.

"Sora, you're the worst!" she called after him. She looked to Axel, who was barely containing his own laughter. "You're not helping!"

He put his hands up, "Hey, I didn't do anything. Good luck though," he winked.

She ran after Sora, down the endless staircase that spiraled Yen Sid's tower. This was the first time they'd seen each other in months, the first time he'd met many of the other Guardians, and this was how he was going to act? One thing she knew for sure - he couldn't read that letter. Not yet.

The front door burst open, and out she stumbled onto the steps of the tower. He stood not a few more paces out of reach, waving the paper in the air.

"Ha! Too late, Kai, sorry," he laughed as he brought it before his eyes.

"Sora please-"

Kairi tackled him to the ground before he could get far, but she knew it was already too late. His whole expression changed the moment his eyes began gliding across the sheet. He sat frozen, nonresistant when she took the sheet from him in a panic.

"I thought it was a poem. I didn't think, I -" he looked her in the eyes, "Kairi, was that for me?"

Kairi sat beside him and gave a small nod. She felt guilty for tearing it from him so violently. "Kind of. It's really embarrassing."

He leaned back, "Try me, I think you owe me a few."

"When I needed to vent, I...I pretended I was talking with you," she hung her head, "and I just wrote."

"Kairi, that's," he paused; her nerves could barely take the tension, "really sweet."

She glanced up, and he met her with the same smile he always did.

"Really?" she asked.

He merely nodded in response. Her heart felt lighter already, and she clutched her letter, remembering the last line she wrote.

_There's no heart your smile can't reach_

She sighed. They'd been apart for so long that she almost forgot how easy it was to just be around him.

Her grip loosened on the paper, and she held it out. "Here."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Mhm, like I said, it's for you anyways."

For a moment, they both sat in silence as he stared at the paper in her hands. She was so nervous that she couldn't help her hands from shaking. Finally, he took it gently. Instead of reading it, however, he neatly folded it and stored it away.

Before she could ask why, he answered, "I'll save it for later, after this is all over."

Her pounding heartbeat slowed. At least she'd have more time to think of what to say, and watching him read her letter would have been too anxiety-inducing anyways.

"Deal," she smiled.

"I have something for you too," he said. Out of his pocket he pulled a small device with a screen and a single button at the bottom.

"What is it?" she asked.

"A Gummi-phone. It'll let us talk over long distances," he placed it in her hand.

Her thumb pressed the center button, and the screen came to life. Within it were several icons, each with a label. One looked like a text bubble, one a camera, another an old-fashioned phone. The icon on the very bottom looked like a small book with tabs, labelled "Contacts".

She tapped it with her thumb, and a list of familiar names popped up with numbers next to them. Aqua, Axel, Ienzo, Merlin, Mickey…

Sure enough, his name appeared near the bottom. She pressed it, and a moment later a cute, upbeat little tone came from Sora's pocket. When he showed her his phone, her name appeared on his screen in big letters.

"If you ever want to vent again," he said, "you can just...call me."

She smiled bright, "I will."

He asked, "Can I show you something?" and she nodded, giving him the phone back. He quickly navigated through several menus before arriving at a screen with a microphone icon. "Press this button," he showed her, "and record a voicemail."

"A voicemail?"

"A message for when you miss someone's call. Something like, 'Hey, it's Kairi! leave a message, and I'll get back to you later, bye!"

His impression of her was silly, but it earned a few giggles. She raised the phone to her mouth. The little *beep* sound was her queue.

"H-hey, it's Kairi. If you got this, then I guess you just missed me, sorry," she shrugged, and Sora gestured her to continue, "leave a message, and I promise I'll call you back soon." Recording her voice felt odd, but still fun in a way. Once she took her finger off the record button, she turned back to Sora, "How was that?"

"Perfect," he grinned again before standing and offering a hand, "let's head back to the islands with Riku. We've got a whole night there."

She remembered the promises they'd made - to always come back to each no matter what. She recalled the charm that Sora still kept in his pocket. It wasn't time to give it back, not yet. But there was one thing they could do to seal their promise before their biggest fight yet.

She took his hand.

"As long as we get there before sunset."

* * *

Sora sat alone, holding her letter in one hand and his phone in the other. Despite every racing thought, he still tried his best not to wrinkle the paper. On the screen, his thumb ran over her name again, even though he knew the outcome.

It didn't even ring once.

"Hey, it's Kairi! If you got this, then I guess you just missed me, sorry! Leave a message, and I promise I'll call you back soon."

The microphone managed to pick up a small laugh before the familiar beep sounded. His turn to speak. Her joyful voice echoed over and over in his head, contrasting directly with the emotions running through his body. Grief. Sorrow. Anger. Too many to name at this point. His hands trembled more, barely able to hold the device up at all.

"Hey, Kai," his voice shook. Speaking her name was difficult enough. With each word, he feared they'd release another flood of tears. "You're right, I do miss you. I'm so sorry…" he stopped to collect himself. His eyes scanned over her letter to him once more. She'd wanted him to remain cheerful, hopeful, no matter what, but how could he at a time like this? The biggest reason for his smile was gone.

No, she couldn't be gone. He wouldn't let her be. There had to be a way.

He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and continued.

"You've always kept your promises, and I'll make sure you can keep this one too."

* * *

A/N: I'll just go under some blankets now. Sorry for the angst at the end, but I couldn't resist adding it. initially, I just wanted to add a cute little scene before they shared the paopu fruit, and one thing led to another. One thing I did appreciate about the end of KH3 was Sora's unyielding determination to bring Kairi back despite his grief. I loved his line, "Not for one more second."

This might be a bit personal, but a similar instance happened when a close friend of mine suddenly passed a few years back. In my denial, the first thing I did was try to call her, and it went straight to voicemail. Grief makes you do crazy things.

Anyways, thank you for reading!


End file.
